Chapter 1184
Flower Red Pavilion
In the past, when beauties from both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths had flocked to the Hidden Demon Pavilion to meet Bu Eun-seol, the martial artists of the Death Shadow War Unit had built him a separate pavilion where he could receive these women in comfort.
Thus, the Flower Red Pavilion became a beautiful and tranquil place for secret rendezvous.
The jade-green pillars of the pavilion, standing over a pond adorned with lush red blossoms, were carved with floral patterns, while plum and peony flowers harmonized in the surrounding scenery.
However, after that day, no more beauties came seeking Bu Eun-seol.
And so, the Flower Red Pavilion eventually became a quiet place where the families of the Death Shadow War Unit's martial artists would gather for leisurely conversation.
But now, for the first time in a long while, Gongson Dan-a—one of the Three Beauties of the World—had arrived.
Won Se-mun and the others had hurriedly rushed to clean the Flower Red Pavilion spotless and had her wait there.
Thud. Thud.
When Bu Eun-seol arrived at the pavilion,
a peerless beauty beyond mortal description was gazing into the empty air.
Clad in the Divine Beast Palace's signature water-hued robes that shimmered like light on a clear lake, she resembled a moonlit spirit descending upon tranquil waters.
Her long hair cascaded down to her waist, swaying like gentle waves, while her eyes—twice as large as an ordinary person's—held nothing but pure innocence.
She was a masterpiece, as if crafted by a celestial artisan after thousands of agonizing attempts—a beauty whose enchanting allure stole one's breath yet made it impossible to look away.
This was none other than Gongson Dan-a, known as the Flower of Eloquence.
"Lady Gongson."
Bu Eun-seol greeted her warmly.
They had first met by chance while resolving an incident at Mount Mao, where they had fought side by side against formidable enemies in life-or-death battles.
Moreover, she had been the one to teach him the secret of cultivating a Taoist Internal Core—a debt he could never forget.
And above all, she was the younger sister of Gongson Dan-gyeong, the woman now bound to him by fate.
In terms of connections alone, their relationship was deeper and more special than any other woman he had encountered thus far.
"Lord."
As Bu Eun-seol approached, Gongson Dan-a skipped formalities and spoke with heartbreaking urgency.
"Please help me."
"What happened?"
Noticing her unusually distressed expression, Bu Eun-seol pressed the question anxiously.
"Is the Chief Strategist unharmed?"
If she had business with him, she could have contacted the Death Soul Squad through Gongson Dan-gyeong at any time.
Yet she had come to the Demon Hall so abruptly—was something wrong with Dan-gyeong?
"My sister is fine."
Seeing the tension in Bu Eun-seol's expression, Gongson Dan-a instead smiled faintly in relief.
"Thank you for your concern."
Bu Eun-seol was known to be cold and aloof, a man who rarely revealed his inner thoughts.
But the Gongson Clan, transcending the boundaries of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths,
treated him as a prospective son-in-law with utmost hospitality.
Yet despite this, no formal marriage proposal had been made, leaving them secretly frustrated.
—Just how long must we wait when he's clearly of age? Could it be that he has other intentions?
Every time Gongson Hwa-uk voiced his impatience,
—The Lord is a warm and considerate man.
Gongson Dan-gyeong would simply praise Bu Eun-seol as if speaking of someone else.
Gongson Dan-a had always been uneasy about this,
but seeing how Bu Eun-seol immediately worried for Dan-gyeong's safety reassured her greatly.
"Then what is the matter?"
"Our Divine Beast Palace Lord is dying from an unknown affliction."
Gongson Dan-a began her explanation calmly.
According to her, the Divine Beast Palace Lord had been wasting away from an illness—one with no discernible cause, where even renowned physicians and precious Spirit Medicines proved useless.
"I see."
Bu Eun-seol muttered lowly, furrowing his brow in disbelief.
"But why was such news not relayed to the Death Soul Squad?"
The Death Soul Squad meticulously monitored the internal affairs of major sects across the Central Plains.
Even mysterious factions like the Divine Beast Palace, which rarely engaged in martial world affairs, were no exception.
Especially since the Divine Beast Palace Lord, Neung-gyeong, had not only shown kindness to Noe Bi-hon but had also shared a special bond with his grandfather—
Bu Eun-seol had always kept a close watch on the palace.
Yet they had failed to detect such critical news as the Palace Lord falling gravely ill?
"Only myself and a few elders of our palace know about her condition."
Gongson Dan-a spoke with a somber expression.
"If rumors spread, our palace could be in danger."
The Divine Beast Palace was surrounded by powerful water spirit energy, which its masters used to repel invaders or deploy mysterious formations.
However, to activate these formations perfectly, the Palace Lord—who possessed immense Water Essence Divine Qi—was essential.
If anything were to happen to her, the Divine Beast Palace would be left vulnerable.
"In that case—"
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened with concern.
"What if I send the Medicine King Faction Master along with the spirit medicines from my collection?"
"No."
Gongson Dan-a shook her head.
"Only the Lord can cure the Palace Lord's illness."
"I'm not particularly well-versed in medicine."
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, your grandfather, left behind a secret remedy specifically for the Palace Lord's frail constitution."
The moment his grandfather's infamous title left Gongson Dan-a's lips, Bu Eun-seol's chest tightened.
The shock from the memories of the masked man—who belonged to the Eighteen Radiant Souls—had yet to fade, and now, here was someone else uttering his grandfather's alias.
"What do you mean by that?"
"The truth is..."
Gongson Dan-a lowered her head and continued.
As the Young Palace Lord of the Divine Beast Palace, she had the authority to enter the palace's Secret Vault as the future successor.
Whenever she had time, she would study the various martial arts manuals stored there.
But by chance, she had discovered an old letter—one personally written by the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang.
In it, he had foreseen that Neung-gyeong, with her delicate health, would one day fall gravely ill or weaken.
And so, he had prepared a special medicine in a certain location to cure her.
Upon learning this, Gongson Dan-a immediately informed the ailing Divine Beast Palace Lord.
But Neung-gyeong only issued a strict order—never to seek it out—before collapsing once more.
After much deliberation, Gongson Dan-a resolved to go to the place where the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade had hidden the medicine.
"Then why not just go yourself?"
"Even if I went, it would be useless. Only the Lord can obtain that medicine."
Her expression darkened as she spoke.
"Because that special remedy is in the Fire Soul Land."
Bu Eun-seol's lips parted slightly.
The Fire Soul Land—a place said to be imbued with the essence of fire.
Once, it had been the most beautiful land in the martial world, teeming with spirit beasts and spiritual herbs.
But now, it lay in ruins.
Because the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade had severed the spirit veins flowing through it.
And yet, despite this, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden—the ruler of the Fire Soul Land—had loved the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade.
It was said that whenever he visited, she would throw open her gates in welcome.
"I see."
Finally, Bu Eun-seol understood why Gongson Dan-a had come to him.
He was the grandson of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang, and bore such a striking resemblance to his grandfather's lonely, youthful demeanor that even the Divine Beast Palace Lord, Neung-gyeong, had momentarily mistaken him for Bu Jan-yang himself.
Moreover, Neung-gyeong and the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had once been romantic rivals over the same man, leaving their relationship strained at best.
If Gongson Dan-a, Neung-gyeong's disciple, were to go, she would be lucky to escape with mere rejection.
But Bu Eun-seol?
She believed that he could obtain the medicine from the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden.
"Besides, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden is known to be extremely eccentric and despises members of the Righteous Faction."
Though the Fire Soul Land had traditionally upheld the Righteous Faction's principles, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had grown to scorn them after meeting the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade.
As Gongson Dan-a had said—this was a task only he could accomplish.
'There's no other choice.'
Bu Eun-seol owed the Divine Beast Palace Lord, Neung-gyeong.
Without her, he would never have been able to save Noe Bi-hon, nor would he have obtained the Thunder Essence Divine Qi.
'And the Palace Lord shares a deep connection with Grandfather.'
Neung-gyeong had loved the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang, and had spent decades in anguish and regret because of him.
That bond alone made it impossible for him to turn away now.
'But—'
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
In the masked man's memories, his grandfather had been ruthlessly cruel—
A man who murdered the women he had once loved and abandoned even his own flesh and blood.
His true nature had been duplicitous, treating people differently based on their usefulness.
Women like the Divine Beast Palace Lord—noble, peerless in martial arts, erudite, and immensely wealthy—he cherished with care.
But those from fallen families? He scorned them, turning a blind eye to their suffering.
In the past, Bu Eun-seol would have dismissed such thoughts outright.
But now, he couldn't be certain.
The image of his grandfather from the masked man's memories had shaken him to the core.
"Lord."
Gongson Dan-a suddenly knelt.
"I know you're overwhelmed with countless matters, barely able to catch your breath."
Misinterpreting his hesitation as reluctance, she pleaded with him.
"But please, just this once—"
"Forgive me, young miss."
Bu Eun-seol quickly helped her up.
"I was lost in thought for a moment. Of course I'll help."
He had never discriminated against anyone.
Not just Gongson Dan-a—
Even if a nameless beggar had come to him, if it was a matter of saving a life, he wouldn't have hesitated.
Because that was how his grandfather had taught him.
Bu Jan-yang, while meticulously guiding the dead on their final journey, had instilled in Bu Eun-seol the preciousness of life—naturally, wordlessly.
"What am I even thinking?"
Even if the entire world refused to trust his grandfather, he had to.
"Didn't I vow, time and again, to shoulder all of my grandfather's karma as his grandson?"
Besides, what he had witnessed were merely fragments of a story the masked man had heard from his comrade.
There was no definitive proof that his grandfather had done those things.
No—even if there was proof, it didn't matter.
"If he were a renowned and esteemed figure, he would still be my grandfather... and if he were a villain who committed atrocities in the past, would that suddenly make him not my grandfather?"
Even if the man known as the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade...
Had once been a monster wearing a human face...
To Bu Eun-seol, he was simply the kind grandfather who had taught him everything about the world.
As Bu Jan-yang's grandson—
If his grandfather bore sin, then he had already resolved to willingly carry that burden as well.
"Let's go right away."
At Bu Eun-seol's words, his dark thoughts dissipating, Gongson Dan-a nodded with a radiant smile.
"Yes."
Leading Gongson Dan-a, Bu Eun-seol immediately activated the Land-Flying Technique and departed from the Demon Hall.
Though she, too, could use the Land-Flying Technique, she had to descend and rest after fifteen minutes.
Bu Eun-seol continuously channeled his internal energy to keep her aloft.
Since Gongson Dan-a possessed profound martial arts and could wield Water Essence Divine Qi,
she was able to sustain the technique with only slight assistance, requiring no excessive exertion.
Before long, as they neared the Fire Soul Land—
The towering forests gradually shrank, and in place of verdant leaves, strange obsidian rocks tinged with a dark crimson hue began to appear.
The air was parched, and with each breath, a searing heat seemed to seep deep into their lungs.
Whoosh.
Upon landing, the ground was covered in shattered black glass and volcanic ash, crunching softly beneath their feet with every step.
"It's over there."
Where Gongson Dan-a pointed—
A vast depression in the earth, like a colossal crater, was shrouded in a heat haze that rose like a curtain.
Once, this had been a beautiful space brimming with spiritual energy.
Now, it resembled a mirage—a remnant of the past, interwoven with the lingering resentment of lives long extinguished.
From afar, it looked like the faint afterimage of countless candles snuffed out all at once, their sorrowful, wistful light rippling outward.
The Fire Soul Land.
They had finally arrived.
"This must be the entrance."
Upon reaching the entrance of the Fire Soul Land, they saw a massive, curved cavern.
The mouth of the cave was sealed by a colossal, translucent crystal tinged with red—
As if a giant's teardrop had solidified into place.
This crystal was harder than steel, impervious to even the sharpest of divine weapons and blades.
"This is—?"
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed fine cracks spreading across its surface like veins.
"Grandfather."
These were the unmistakable marks of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade Bu Jan-yang's secret technique—
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
"So, it wasn't as the martial world believed?"
According to legend, when the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade visited the Fire Soul Land—
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had harnessed the land's power, causing the crimson crystal to melt away on its own, opening the path for him.
Yet the actual entrance bore not the signs of a voluntary parting, but the violent remnants of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
"But this isn't the aftermath of battle."
Upon closer examination, it wasn't a technique unleashed in combat—
Rather, it was as if someone had performed a solitary dance, executing the forms alone.
"My lord."
At Gongson Dan-a's voice, Bu Eun-seol snapped back to attention and nodded.
"Let's go in."
Passing through, they stepped into the interior of the Fire Soul Land—
Where a massive basin stretching a hundred li in diameter lay before them.
At its center was an enormous lake,
but now, with the spirit veins dried up, only a cracked, tortoise-shell-like surface remained.
From the fissures in the earth rose not the warmth of life, but the faint, cold stench of sulfur seeping from the depths of the ley lines.
"There's poison here."
Bu Eun-seol had nearly exhausted the power of the Saint Among Poisons when piercing the masked man's spirit and mind—one of the Eighteen Radiant Souls.
Though his Poison Saint Body remained unbroken, rendering him immune to the poison's invasion,
he could no longer freely create toxins without limit or detoxify others as he once had.
"It's alright."
Unnoticed, a shimmering, watery membrane had enveloped Gongson Dan-a.
As the surrounding poison spread, her Water Essence Divine Qi naturally blocked it.
"So the Water Essence Divine Qi has such a function."
Watching Gongson Dan-a's technique, Bu Eun-seol realized anew—
The Heavenly Light Endless Art was merely a unification of power, not a perfect fusion of attributes.
"To achieve true unity, one must harmonize all attributes."
"How fascinating."
Just then, Gongson Dan-a gasped in awe as she took in the scenery around them.
"This place must have been truly extraordinary once."
It was said that in its heyday, spirit beasts resembling phoenixes once soared through the skies here, while spiritual herbs that bloomed only once every thousand years spread across the land like a crimson carpet.
Even now, long after the spirit beasts and herbs had vanished, the scenery of Fire Soul Land remained mystifying.
The trees that had perished while still saturated with spiritual energy had hardened like stone, yet when light touched them, their surfaces shimmered with dazzling brilliance, like an illusion rising from the earth.
Scattered across the ground were fragments that glittered like shards of glass—spiritual herbs that had fossilized in an instant, their vitality snuffed out abruptly when the spirit veins were severed.
Though they still retained the delicate forms of petals and leaves, they were now nothing more than hollow crystals, devoid of even a speck of life.
As expected.
Bu Eun-seol paused his steps, examining a massive bone half-buried in the ash and dust before nodding slowly.
The bone was ivory-white and solid, but upon closer inspection, dark energy had spread through its marrow like fine veins.
Another trace left behind by Grandfather's Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Grandfather wiped out every last spirit beast in this place.
But something was strange.
Had the Fire Soul Land's master been in her right mind, she would never have stood idly by while he slaughtered them.
There should have been a fierce battle between them—so why were there no traces of such a struggle?
Still...
Bu Eun-seol couldn't suppress his awe.
Even back then, Grandfather's mastery of fire far surpassed what I've achieved now.
When Bu Jan-yang first entered Fire Soul Land, he had been quite young. Yet the aura of death embedded in these bones had not faded even after decades.
Bu Eun-seol still...
Had yet to catch up to the Bu Jan-yang of his youth.
"Lord."
Just then, Gongson Dan-a pointed into the distance.
There, an elderly woman clad in strange, crimson-tinged robes had appeared without warning.
Her face was grotesquely disfigured, and her left pupil had turned a milky white, making her look like a vengeful spirit.
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden.
The master of Fire Soul Land had arrived.
Why was she ever called an 'Immortal Maiden'?
The title "Immortal Maiden" was typically bestowed upon women of noble character and breathtaking beauty.
But the woman before them was aged and hideous—so much so that meeting her gaze was almost unbearable.
"I am Bu Eun-seol, a disciple of Langya Pavilion."
Bu Eun-seol was always one to think deeply but act swiftly.
"An urgent matter has brought us here, disturbing your secluded cultivation. I apologize for the intrusion."
Since the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had ties to his grandfather and held a high status, he paid her the utmost respect.
Gongson Dan-a also bowed quickly.
"I am Gongson Dan-a, a disciple of the Divine Beast Palace."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden was known to have been romantic rivals with Divine Beast Palace Lord Neung-gyeong, and their relationship was said to be extremely hostile.
Perhaps because of this, the moment Gongson Dan-a bowed, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden's face twisted in displeasure.
"Leave."
Her expression was frigid as she alternated her gaze between Bu Eun-seol and Gongson Dan-a.
"This land strictly forbids outsiders."
Though Fire Soul Land had long been reduced to ruins,
its disciples still thrived, quietly preserving its legacy.
However, since the intruders had easily traversed the land's deadly miasma, the One-Eyed Immortal Maiden had come personally to investigate.
"Immortal Maiden."
Gongson Dan-a seemed to steel herself before speaking.
"We heard that the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade left behind spirit medicine here."
"What did you say?"
"Our Palace Lord has fallen gravely ill, her body weakened greatly."
Gongson Dan-a prostrated herself, bowing deeply.
"I beg you to show mercy and grant us this favor."
"I told you to leave."
"Lord Bu here is the grandson of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade."
"What?"
Gongson Dan-a bowed again.
"For the sake of his grandfather's past ties, I implore you to reconsider."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden's face flushed red, then darkened.
"You... are Bu Jan-yang's grandson?"
She scrutinized Bu Eun-seol's face.
In his youth, the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade had been ruggedly masculine—nothing like Bu Eun-seol's ethereal, almost feminine beauty.
But that aura.
The way he stood alone at the edge of a ruined world,
his presence steeped in boundless solitude and loneliness...
It was uncannily reminiscent of him in his younger days.
"It's true."
Bu Eun-seol met her gaze unflinchingly and nodded.
"That's right."
"So, Bu Jan-yang's grandson... Heh heh heh."
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden let out a chilling laugh.
Misreading the shift in her expression, Gongson Dan-a brightened with hope.
"Then... may we have the medicine?"
"Medicine? Hahaha!"
The One-Eyed Immortal Maiden cackled for a long while, her laughter as grating as a crow's cry, sending shivers down their spines.
"This Lady never had a title before. I lived quietly, tending to Fire Soul Land, where spirit beasts and herbs flourished."
Her eyes raked over Gongson Dan-a's pretty face before she sneered.
"Do you know why I was given the name 'One-Eyed Immortal Maiden'?"
"I do not."
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang."
A murderous aura, dark as congealed blood, seeped from her entire body.
"It's because he gouged out my eye."